What kind of person was Börje Salming?
Willing and modest. We once had a meeting of the Salming hockey department right in Toronto. We were with him at the Hall of Fame where he was showing us his display case. And the most interesting thing was what a rock star there is. We were walking down the street in Toronto, people kept stopping him and wanted to take a picture with him, get something signed. His popularity in Toronto was much greater than in Sweden. In the evening we sat at the bar and someone kept ordering him drinks. And he was fantastic about taking pictures with everyone, chatting.
| SALMING’S ORIGIN |
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| Börje Salming’s ancestors were Lapps who founded the village of Salmi. His grandfather’s name was originally Saari, but he changed his surname to Salming, according to the village. Börje was also born there. At the age of five, he lost his father, who died in a mining accident. |
Over dinner, he talked about the good old days of the NHL. He described how they once played in Los Angeles. The day before the game, they got together and flew to Las Vegas for the night. In the morning they returned to the hotel, slept and went to play. He also talked about an affair when he was suspended because cocaine was found on him. The story he told us was that he was at a party when the police came and found drugs. He took it upon himself. He probably took him too, but he was trying to save the others (From the NHL, Salming first received a one-year suspension, which was subsequently reduced to eight games. The punishment came mainly because Salming confessed to the magazine Sports Illustrated to the occasional use of cocaine).
Photo: archive salmingstore.cz
Börje Salming at the opening of the store in Prague in 2018.Photo: archive salmingstore.cz
Börje had a share in the company, he was the owner of the rights to the Salming brand. There are more companies that bear his name. But in Salming Sports, he was appearing at big events, meeting people. This is how he flew to Prague four years ago, when we were opening a store here. He spent the entire evening with us, again an extremely nice person who took pictures with everyone and spoke engagingly about his career. He also remembered the matches against Czechoslovakia and mentioned that his great role model was defender Jan Suchý. He did not fully participate in the day-to-day management of the company, but he was involved in strategic decisions, which he sanctified that he was identified with them.
| THE DAUGHTER OF THE ATHLETE |
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| Back in August, Börje Salming cheered on his 24-year-old daughter Bianca, who is a Swedish representative in the heptathlon, at the European Championships in Munich. She finished eighth in a personal record of 6,185 points, for which she thanked the presence of her father and mother Katarina. “It’s great to see him. In addition, there are siblings and my dad’s brother,” she said. Even then it was public knowledge that Salming suffered from the incurable disease ALS, but he said: “I know there is no cure, but there are trials going on in the world and one day the cure will be here. My family and I remain positive.” He succumbed to the disease on Thursday at the age of 71. |
